Thursday, December 31, 2009

It's almost here... 2010. What do you have planned for the New Year? Any resolutions? I'm just planning to try and live healthy and cultivate gratitude for all my blessings. And of course spoil those grandbabies...

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

My new bedding from JUDY HILL arrived on Christmas Eve. It's so romantic and charming and goes beautifully with my pine bed. I especially love the burlap pillow with the cheesecloth rosettes, which I shot close~up for my new header pic. The linen box pillows are Carolyn Westbrook Home.

Monday, December 28, 2009

So, here's the happy ending to this morning's let down. I emailed the person listing the dresser and asked if someone had gotten it the day before, and they emailed me back and said "we put it out at 7:15, and it's still there".

We just unloaded it. It needs some TLC but will be cute as a button when painted.

That's what the ad on Craigslist said... This antique Eastlake dresser will be on the curb at 7am Monday morning. Original mirror. Needs work, great restored. Free.

In a neighborhood less than ten minutes from my home... So Mr. Sweet Pea and I head there this am at 6:30 in case they put it out earlier. When we pull in there is already competition circling the neighborhood. Okay that doesn't scare us. The house number was not given~~only the street name. But this street happened to be a big circle through the entire neighborhood. At first, our competition followed behind us. I thought, wow are we going to have to tussle for this? So we turned around and headed the other direction.

So here we are, at 6:40am circling for the elusive free dresser. Giving the stare down to the other guy as he passes us for the 30th time. And then, the unexpected... A third truck gets into the action. Yikes I thought, this could get ugly. Luckily this guy doesn't have the staying power and leaves after one lap.

Okay it's finally 7am... No dresser. Still circling. 7:05. Still circling. No dresser. 7:10. Still circling. Going a little faster now. No dresser. And then we get a break! The competition has had enough and leaves! Wimp.

7:15. We circle two more times. No dresser. Okay we give. We leave never laying eyes on the free antique Eastlake dresser that needs work. Did someone contact the owner the day before and pick it up? Did they oversleep? Were they playing a prank and watching to see how many lunatics would circle and for long? We'll never know...

Sunday, December 27, 2009

And so another Christmas has come and gone... Soon the decorations will come down and my eye will start to look for fresh updates to make around the house... Do you do this? Are you ever satisfied with your home?

Anyway, I've been dying to show you the latest addition to my mirror obsession, but I had to find a home for it and then Mr. Sweet Pea had to hang it for me. I stalked this bad boy for months at a local antique market, but the dealer was a bit of a pill over the price of it~~even dealer to dealer, and I had myself talked out of it actually. I mean, aren't we dealers in this to sell stuff? Alas, I caved in and made one last attempt and he finally gave me a deal I could live with. He said it is 1800's from an old Mississippi barber shop. This baby is heavy cast iron and projects out about 3 feet when extended fully. That was the tricky part about hanging it. But I mounted it above the sink in the hall bath with the accordian part flat on the wall and it looks fab. Do you agree?

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

After a long day of searching for the perfect gifts to put under the tree, there's nothing better than sitting down with some tea in your favorite cup from Anthropologie. Pair it with an old brown and white transferware plate, an old silver spoon and a vintage tea towel as a napkin... How can you go wrong?

Enjoy your WHITE WEDNESDAY! Head over to Kathleen's blog to see the other participants...

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Holiday decorating in the land of SWEET PEA means simple in tones of white, cream, silver and brown. But there is one tree that is very different... Colorful... Special... Full of memories... I call it the MEMORY TREE.

You see, it is the tree that holds all the hand-made ornaments from the childhood of my two sons, one now 30 and the other soon to be 29. I have kept every single one they ever made and I treasure them beyond words. Thus, they get their own special little tree.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I am loving these Christmas cards by Anna Griffin that I found at where else... Target! Gotta love Target. I am off to get a second box of the WISH design as they will be saved for next year. The Snowflake design will go to friends and family this season along with a beautiful set of pale blue ones that say Fa La La. Happy White Wednesday! Be sure to check out all the participants at KATHLEEN'S blog, Faded Charm.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Like many of you, I like to decorate my holiday trees with their own unique personality. This year I wanted something different for my big tree in the living room, so in addition to the silver and white ornaments and white berry garland I used some of the fabulous tags I have collected from various talented artists. I love how it turned out and hope you do as well. Here is a tour of trees in my home...

The "tag" tree. A 7' slim pre~lit tree in an old concrete urn. The tags are all from etsy sellers.

The dining room tree is a table~top tree in an old crusty white bucket. This tree gets a mix of new and old silver ornaments and creamy cotton icicles.

This is a new addition to my home this year and I call it the "bling" tree. It has seam binding with old buttons, an old watch and a collection of old pins. It sits in a crusty old light fixture.

I love this old bottle brush tree.

I have a pair of these silver trees on the mantle in black iron urns.

This tree is in the kitchen on top of the refrigerator. It looks good just bare I think.

I adore this "Charlie Brown" tree.

I couldn't resist a night shot of this twig tree on the porch, shot through the lace curtain.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I love a white Christmas. Living in Florida requires some improvisation to accomplish that. My decorating style for the holidays is all about whites, silver and neutrals in very simple trees and ornaments. Enjoy this week's WHITE WEDNESDAY...

Antique dealer, junk lover, one of the "green" people before we even knew we were. Wife, mother of two sons, grandma to three little angels. Twice a year Mr. Sweet Pea and I make the long drive to Texas to do the Marburger Farms show. We love it and wish we lived closer. But then there are those three little angels... Never tire of looking for treasure and re-doing my home.